"... TO GIVE UNTO THEM BEAUTY FOR ASHES, THE OIL OF JOY FOR MOURNING, THE GARMENT OF PRAISE FOR THE SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS; THAT THEY MIGHT BE CALLED TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,THE PLANTING OF THE LORD, THAT HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED." ISAIAH 61:3

Saturday, July 16, 2011

So, I was checking our bank account a few days ago and discovered that the charges made in Houston, Texas had cleared.
One problem - we were never in Houston, Texas.

I'll spare you the transcripts of the panicked calls to the bank.
All the 'What the...!',
and 'How in the...?'
do not really bear repeating.

It suffices to say, someone obtained our debit number, created their own card, and proceeded to drain our account.

Thankfully, 48 hours was all it took for our bank liaison, the awesome 'Ms. T', to file discrepancy reports and replace the stolen funds.
But it seemed sooooo much looonger!!!

Perspective. It's skewed and unreliable at best. It can change with the wind. Yet we trust it completely and use it for almost every decision.

From my worldly perspective I wanted nothing more than to meet the persons who stole from us,
those who essentially took food out of the mouths of our children,
and beat the ever lovin' , I mean pound them within an inch of their,
that is to say, give them a stern (ahem) talking to!

From the calmer spirit led perspective, I knew that forgiveness and prayer were in order.

We're always told to 'keep things in perspective'. I think it may be more accurate to say 'keep things in relative perspective'.
What happened to us seemed traumatic until I considered . . .

Job lost his family, health, and wealth, my parents lost a child, my dear friends Jerry and Lee Anne lost their lives.

I lost money. Money that was promptly replaced.

Oh God, please help me to remove myself from the center of it all. Let my perspective always be relative to your truth.

We love the pomp and circumstance, the parades and poems - all the trappings of the day!
And under all that stars and stripes face paint, you'll find a true and abiding love for this nation.

We know we are blessed to be a part of this country.

Yep, we are those people!

We proudly say the pledge with hand to heart. We fly our flag 365 days a year.
We do not consider it unreasonable to wait until the National Anthem is over before munching on nachos or gabbing on the phone. Seriously!